Guard Against Further Blunders, Onigbinde Cautions NFF

Former Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) instructor, Coach Adegboye Onigbinde, has cautioned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) against committing further school boys’ blunders as the country prepares for the forthcoming Mundial.

The former Super Eagles’ gaffer, who is still pained by the recent sanction slammed on the country by FIFA over the use of an ineligible player, Abdullahi Shehu, in the last World Cup qualifier.

Though the veteran coach admits that no human being is infallible, he insists that with her football pedigree, Nigeria should never be found wanting in that regards.

“We are all human beings, people can make mistakes, but such mistakes are not expected of a nation like Nigeria with her pedigree in world football. Are we then saying that we don’t have one single person, who understands the rules of the game?

“If anybody managing our football claims ignorance of these regulations then I do not know what more to say about it. This does not cut a good picture of the country. But we are lucky that in spite of it, we are still going to the World Cup.

Onigbinde, who said that the fine from FIFA does not speak well of the country added, “Let’s hope that we are not going to make further blunders. Football administration is a very simple thing if only we decide to do it right.

“Towards the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, I appointed a staff of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the team secretary. This automatically made him the team’s administrative head. His job was to keep all records and alert us. I am very much aware of the set up in the NFF’s Technical Department, and I am of the opinion that the technical department has not been adequately empowered.”

Onigbinde, who became the first indigenous coach to take the country to the World Cup said: “If they had agreed for me to sit down with them, I would have pointed out the grey areas in the department to them. That problem is still there up till today and there is even a bigger confusion as regards the functions of those in that department.

“These are the lapses we are talking about, there is a lot of things wrong with our football administration because we are not doing it right. If you don’t do it right, you cannot get it right and it is most unfortunate. I am very sad about the sanction, not only sad, but also angry. I rarely get angry but this time around, I am angry, because I know we are capable of doing things better. I can only wish Nigeria the very best of luck,” he stated.